Carol Olson: Christmas is past, time to look forward to New Year's

By Carol OlsonFor the Contra Costa Times

Posted:
12/24/2013 05:21:15 PM PST

Updated:
12/24/2013 05:21:16 PM PST

Well, Christmas is over now, and the decorated tree remains up as a reminder of the day of giving. Presents may still be displayed under the tree for visitors to see and admire. Some gifts may have been boxed up to return to the store for something else. It is still a time of excitement, laughter and joy, but perhaps for some, a time of frustration.

Most of us have plenty of Christmas dinner leftovers to last us a few more days. Lots of good stuff to eat or nibble on as you watch TV and then hope that you won't gain too much weight.

I hope that all of you were able to enjoy your holiday with family, friends and loved ones. The saddest part of this time of year is when any of the cards that you sent out are returned with "deceased" written on them. With us seniors, that happens just too many times.

Sending and receiving Christmas cards is one of the best parts of the holiday for me. I love all the different cards and display them for everyone that comes over to my home to see. The newsletters with photos and the stories about what they've done over the year are just wonderful. My cousin Dennis' wife, Stephanie, puts out a letter every year that is just amazing. What a wonderful job of condensing the family's year together, along with photos for you to see of where they went and what they saw.

Once again this year I made it a point to say, "Merry Christmas" to everyone's path I crossed. They were welcome to change it to anything they wanted to, but I refused to say "Happy Holidays." What pleased me the most was the sales clerk's reaction to my "Merry Christmas." They always broke into a big smile, their eyes would light up and then they responded with a "Merry Christmas" back to me.

Advertisement

It would seem to me that a lot more people are rebelling against this silly rule of being politically correct when it comes to Christmas. I approve. More power to them!

At least we don't have to watch all those Christmas commercials anymore this year. Some of them, though, were really entertaining this time and I never got tired of watching them. The one that we all wish would disappear and never come back is Clapper one. The woman in bed must be over 100 years old by now and I never could figure out why she's so mad at the TV and lamp for being on. Wasn't she the one who turned them on in the first place?

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are the next holidays we have to look forward to. The parades and Bowl Games all over the country fill our TV sets and keep us entertained for hours. The Rose Parade seems to be the favorite one to watch for most of us, and each year brings a new theme for those fabulous floats covered in flowers, grasses and seeds.

I'd like to take this space to thank all my readers, and also those that take the time to send letters to me.

I so appreciate each and every letter I receive, and I share some of them with my editors. Without you, I would have no column, so please keep reading and letting me know if you enjoyed them.

A native of Minnesota, Carol Olson grew up in South Dakota and Walnut Creek and now lives in Pittsburg. She can be reached at carolleeolson@aol.com.